Falling In

February 19, 1944

"Do you think he's recovered from the initial shock?" she asked him as she reached over and straightened his tie.

"I doubt it," Tom told her with a smirk.

"It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't take credit for it." Rosemary rolled her eyes, remembering their encounter earlier in the week. While she and Tom were holding hands and walking through the corridor that led to the Slytherin common room, they had run into Slughorn. He was both surprised and delighted to discover their new relationship. "I always knew there was something between you two! I can be quite a matchmaker, you know!" he had boasted.

She had fought the urge to remind him that their partnership in Potions had been decided by the results on the exam they took the first day; they hadn't exactly been hand-picked by him to work together.

"If he's happy to think so, we should leave it at that," Tom told her, tracing a pattern on the back of her hand with his finger. "The happier he is about us being together, the stronger case he'll make for our selection as Head Boy and Head Girl."

"You're right," she sighed. "Well, this will be an interesting meeting." They were on their way to their first Slug Club meeting as a couple, and she had a feeling that their coupledom would be a large part of the conversation.

Tom and Rose reached his office door and she took out a small compact mirror to check her makeup and hair. He reached up to knock. She smiled up at him as they waited and wondered how she had gone her entire life without feeling as wonderful as she did when she was with him. It had only been a week since the ball and already she didn't know what she would do without him.

Slughorn opened the door and his eyes lit up immediately. "I can't get over it; you two make such a sharp couple!"

Rose forced herself to smile, bracing herself to deal with comments such as these for the rest of their evening at his office.

"Come in, come in! We have a very special guest this evening." He stepped aside so they could enter. As he led them across his office to the adjoining room where they usually had dinner during the meetings, Slughorn continued to speak: "I do have a small confession to make, I suppose. You will be the only students joining us this evening; it is essential that this particular guest maintains a high degree of confidentiality and he requested that I only invited one or two of my students to meet him." Tom and Rose exchanged curious glances. Perhaps Tom was right about allowing Slughorn to take credit for their blossoming relationship; it certainly seemed to have led to some perks so far. Slughorn stopped at the doorway to his make-shift dining room and turned toward them, speaking in a hushed voice. "I'm sure I don't have to mention this to either of you, but as far as any of your classmates go, this meeting tonight never happened. Understood?"

They nodded and Slughorn led them into the next room. Rose saw a wizard sitting at the table and when he turned his face toward them, she was struck with an odd feeling of familiarity as though she had passed him on the street at some point. At the same time, she felt like she had just stepped in the presence of greatness. He had a certain aura about him that demanded awe, even though she didn't have a clue about who this wizard was.

"Tom, Rosemary…I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, Nicolas Flamel. Nick, this is Tom Riddle and Rosemary Horton."

Her eyes widened and she looked between Tom, Slughorn, and the seated wizard in disbelief. Tom seemed equally as shocked and he said, "Excuse me, Professor, but did you say Nicolas Flamel?"

The wizard stood and approached them with a modest smile on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." When he spoke, she recognized immediately that he had a French accent. He outstretched a hand to Rose and when she took it, he softly kissed the top of her hand.

"It's such an honor to meet you, Sir!" Rosemary was short of breath and feeling rather light-headed. It was quite a bit to take in, after all. It was the Nicolas Flamel, the legendary, immortal creator of the Philosopher's Stone. It was even debated throughout the wizarding world whether or not he was still around or had chosen to pass away at some point through the ages. She now understood why he had requested that their meeting was kept confidential: surely if everyone knew he was still out there, they would be pounding on his front door every day, begging him to make them an Elixir of Life.

"It's truly an honor," Tom said as Flamel greeted him with a handshake.

"Horace has spoken so highly of both of you. The best in his sixth-year Potions class, I hear."

Rose felt her face turn scarlet and she gave him a shy smile.

"I have no doubt that they would have excelled just as profoundly in Alchemy, if we could have offered it this year. Alas, there wasn't quite enough demand," Slughorn said. "Let's sit! One of the kitchen elves will be here soon with our first course."

Tom sat in the seat across from Flamel and Rose slid into the seat to Tom's right. Tom seemed to recover from his initial shock, leaning forward slightly in his chair and beginning to ask Slughorn's guest question after question. She was happy that Tom had plenty to ask, because she was completely dumbfounded, still trying to process the fact that she was in the presence of someone so legendary.

Their first course arrived: a nice charcuterie spread with fresh bread. Rose briefly wondered why any other food from the Hogwarts kitchen was never as good as what they received during Slug Club.

"Mr. Flamel, what was your time at Beauxbatons like?" Tom asked.

"Much like your schooling here at Hogwarts, really," the wizard answered. "We were taught many of the same subjects, except there were fewer restrictions on what was taught."

"Do you think having more restrictions is a bad thing?"

"Yes and no. I suppose it's good for the protection of students. But knowing more about the vastness of magic was what led to my ability to create the Stone...Sometimes I worry that the restrictions on learning certain types of magic will hamper the creativity and discoveries of younger generations, as I'm sure it has already."

Tom looked fascinated, as though he was hanging onto every word for dear life. "That is certainly an interesting viewpoint, Sir. I quite agree." It was rather fun to see him this way, acting so adult-like and formal after she had finally seen a more relaxed, playful side to him.

Finally, Rose recovered from her shock and was able to ask a question: "How exactly does the Stone work?"

"It's quite ancient magic...a type of magic that one can never completely understand. It continues to elude me, all these years later." Flamel smiled sadly, as though she had touched on a weak spot. It made her feel rather guilty.

"So, how did you create it?" Tom asked.

"Now that's the question everyone would love to know the answer to!" said Slughorn with amusement.

The table was quiet for a moment until Flamel replied: "It was truly a great deal of trial and error and it took nearly forty years, which is why, regrettably, I don't resemble my twenty-something self." He chuckled a bit before continuing. "In the end, I'm not really sure how it was created. There were so many factors that went into it. I don't think I could remember the right combination if I tried." He spoke in such a kind, detached way, as though this didn't bother him in the slightest. She supposed this made sense; since he was immortal, he clearly had no need to replicate the Stone's creation. He had already reaped the benefits, after all.

She glanced over at Tom and a look rapidly passed over his face that suggested he wasn't very satisfied with the answer. With good reason, she supposed. Wasn't Flamel supposed to be the master of Alchemy? Of course, he had probably gotten quite close to creating the Stone on his own even if the last piece occurred by chance.

Their main course arrived, momentarily interrupting the conversation and giving Slughorn the opportunity to add himself back into it. "So, Nicolas, how is your wife?"

Rose looked at Flamel in surprise; he had a wife?

"She's quite well. We recently celebrated her six-hundredth and tenth birthday with a trip to Florence."

Slughorn smiled in amusement and looked at Tom and Rose for their shocked reactions yet again. Not only was he immortal, he had an immortal wife, too. Of course! The number six hundred and ten was rather difficult for her to wrap her head around. Mr. and Mrs. Flamel had spent over six lifetimes together; it was quite romantic to think about. Rose could hear how much he loved her in the way he spoke about her; she couldn't help but hope that Tom would speak the very same way of her one day.

Tom changed the subject again after a moment and proceeded to ask several additional questions. Before she knew it, they had finished dessert and Flamel announced that he would have to be on his way: "I should drop by Albus' office before it becomes too late," he said.

They stood from their chairs and both Tom and Rose thanked him for meeting them. They said their goodbyes and Slughorn escorted the wizard out of his office. When he returned, he gave them a look that indicated he was eager to hear their reactions. "Well, what did you think about meeting Nicolas Flamel?"

"That was such an incredible experience, Professor…Thank you so much for allowing us to meet him!" Rose gushed in excitement. "I could have listened to him speak for hours."

"Yes, thank you, Sir," Tom said. "That was quite fascinating."

Slughorn looked satisfied with their gratitude. "Well, you best be off to bed, it's nearly curfew."

They thanked him again and left his office. Once outside, Rose turned to Tom and said plainly, "We just met Nicolas Flamel. If you weren't there with me, I might've thought I dreamt it!"

"Can you believe it?" Tom was speaking excitedly, his steps through the corridor feeling more energetic than usual. He was still in a bit of a daze after meeting one of the most powerful and talented wizards of all time. Awe had completely spread over him, even though he now knew the discovery of the Stone hadn't been entirely by skill.

As they entered the Slytherin common room, he forced himself out of his head long enough to say, "I'll walk you to Ravenclaw Tower in a moment, but I have to run upstairs and fetch a book to return to the library on my way back."

"Sure," she said, following him up the stairs to his dormitory. To his surprise, his room was empty. Apparently, Avery, Lestrange, and their girlfriends were sneaking around the castle somewhere, which wasn't that surprising. They often disregarded the Hogwarts curfew rules, which was fine by him; he'd rather have the place to himself.

"Come to think of it," he said, "maybe you could just stay here for a while." He was in such a good mood and he really wanted to talk about the dinner with her.

Rose bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "I don't know…then I'll have to see Faye…"

Right. He had forgotten about their row; she hadn't spoken with Donohue in nearly a week and while he didn't mind the fact that Rose didn't want to be around her rather annoying friend, he certainly didn't like the fact that she was upset. "I could put a few charms on the doors…Avery and Lestrange won't know how to break them," he offered.

She gave him a mischievous smile. "That'll work!"

He pulled out his wand and began speaking the incantations of various charms to keep the doors locked when the others returned. He had just finished when he heard Rosemary exclaim. "So thisis where my scarf has been!"

Tom spun around and saw that she was lying on her stomach on top of his bed, peering into an open drawer in his dresser. The same drawer that was supposed to be locked at all times. Suddenly, he remembered in dismay that he had indeed forgotten to lock it before attending dinner that night.

His temper flared from both embarrassment and the fact that she had simply helped herself to his things. He walked quickly over to her. "What is all this stuff?" she asked, holding up his diary. She was about to open the first page when he grabbed it from her hands and shoved it back into the drawer.

"Can't I look at your things?" she asked him, giving him a pouty face.

"No, that's why they're mine," he said, his voice to betraying a hint of annoyance with her.

"Not this," she said sassily, holding up the scarf in her hand. "Were you planning on giving this back to me?"

Tom looked away from her face. "I was," he lied.

"No you weren't," Rose smirked. "It's okay, you can keep it." She sat up and pulled him down to sit on the bed next to her. "Please don't be cross with me, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset," he told her, even though he knew agitation was still leaking through his voice.

"If you aren't upset, you should just show me everything in your secret collection of things," she said.

"No."

"Why not? Please, Tom, I'm so curious!"

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" he smirked, despite himself. Apparently, it was near-impossible to stay angry with her.

"It's going to be on my mind constantly until I find out. I won't be able to think about anything else."

"It's just a bunch of random things," he said, trying to make her forget about it. "It's nothing special."

"I don't believe you…"

"Do you really want to see all of my things that badly?" He wondered what had made her so curious.

"Yes!" she said excitedly. "Just show me and then I won't have to wonder. I want to know all the secrets behind Tom Riddle!"

You don't actually mean that, he thought as his memories of the Chamber of Secrets flashed through his mind.

"Fine," he bluffed, faking a defeated voice.

"Really?" Rose looked so satisfied that she had won.

"No," Tom smirked. Before she could react, he pushed her body down onto his bed and climbed on top of her, pinning her hands down with his on both sides of her head.

"You're terrible!" she said. He could tell that she was trying to pout, but she ultimately broke down and started giggling.

"I think I'll just have to put your mind on something else entirely," he told her, bending his neck down to kiss her passionately. She kissed him back with her exquisite mouth and he felt himself get hard for her almost instantly. He buried his hands in her perfectly curled hair, licking her bottom lip so that she would let his tongue into her mouth. She obliged, and her tongue met his with the delicate dance he so enjoyed.

Rose reached up to untie his tie and slipped it over his head. She began to work on unbuttoning his shirt until he rolled off of her and pulled her on top of him. Tom reached behind her, running his hands under her dress, up the sides of her legs. He fought making the sound that tried to escape his mouth as she left a trail of kisses down his neck, but eventually gave in, letting out a small groan of pleasure. Absolutely everything she did felt wonderful and left him wanting so much more.

Tom reached around her and unzipped the back of her dress. Wordlessly, she stood and slid off the black chiffon. Her tights followed soon after so she was left in only her lingerie. Tom removed his shirt while admiring her body and pulled her back on top of him, kissing her deeply once more. He very much enjoyed the feeling of her warm, smooth skin against his and wondered how much better it would be if they were entirely naked. All in due time, he tried to tell himself. They had only been dating a week, after all. There was no reason to take things too quickly.

Still, Tom's manly desires were beginning to be too much to handle. He reached around her again to unclasp her bra, fumbling with it for a moment. She had made it look so easy in the Forest when she removed it for him. Finally, his fingers were successful and he slipped it off of her. She pressed her pelvis into his and began lightly moving in a rhythm against him. It aroused him even more, especially combined with the feeling of her bare, round breasts against his chest.

He could barely control himself anymore. Once again, he flipped her over so he was on top. He stopped kissing her to say, "All this talk of curiosity has made me interested in exploring a few things." He kissed her neck and along her collarbone. Eventually, he lowered his lips even further to kiss the top of her left breast. He began inching his way down further and further until he reached her round, hard nipple that was the perfect shade of pink. He kissed it first, and then opened his lips, circling it with his tongue.

She let out a light moan that only served to get him even more turned on. "I take it you're just fine with this type of exploration," he smirked.

"Yes," she said breathlessly as he pressed his tongue to her nipple once again. He reached his other hand up to her right breast and began playing with her other nipple. "More," she pleaded. He found that he loved providing her so much pleasure.

Tom bit down on her lightly and she let out a small gasp in delight. Then he allowed his hands to slide down her smooth, toned stomach to her underwear. He slipped them off of her and continued to use his tongue to toy with her nipples as he ran his hand over her neatly trimmed patch of hair and down towards parts of her that he had so far only dreamt of touching. He traced his fingers around her opening; it was unbearably sexy now that he could feel her wetness. His fingers slid between her two small folds and she let out another small moan when his finger pressed against a small peak. It was all very new for him and he had an urge to position himself between her legs and explore every part of her.

He kept his finger in the same spot, moving it in a small circle while his tongue continued to play with her nipples. She suddenly reached down and began grasping for his pants, unbuttoning the top button and beginning to slide down the zipper. He shooed her hand away.

She asked in despair, "Why are you the only one who gets to explore?"

"You've already done enough exploring tonight," he told her sternly. This would be her punishment. In addition, there was the fact that he would probably lose control completely if he let her touch him. He was enjoying this plenty and wanted to focus entirely on learning every inch of her body.

Tom kissed her again before she could argue and traced his fingers around her opening once more. Then he just couldn't help himself: he slid one of his long fingers inside her and she moaned loudly into his mouth as they kissed. The vibrations of her moan sent a pleasurable feeling down his spine. He began to move his finger around, exploring the warmth of her.

"There! Right there! Oh, Tom!" she said, closing her eyes. He moved his finger back and forth inside of her, careful to touch the spot she had indicated with every stroke. She began to moan louder, grasping his hair and pulling him down to kiss her. He rather enjoyed the way that she was starting to squirm around in pleasure and he couldn't keep himself from smirking at the sight. Thinking about doing these intimate things with her had made him somewhat nervous in because of his inexperience; it was reassuring to see that she was reacting with enthusiasm instead of being underwhelmed.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. The noises she made were causing him to throb in excitement. He ached to insert his shaft inside of her, but forced himself to resist yet again. It was a feat that took nearly all of his willpower. He moved his finger faster and her moans became increasingly breathy. Suddenly, he felt her contract around his finger and she let out her loudest, sexiest moan yet.

She collapsed on the pillow behind her, looking sleepy. He removed his finger from her, and he relished how wet it was. Rose pulled him down so that he was lying beside her and she turned her body toward his. "Tom…that was...something." She smiled, looking more relaxed than he had ever seen her before. He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Won't you let me thank you?" she asked him.

He knew exactly what she meant and debated it for a moment. It sounded wonderful to have her hands all over him, but he was simply too turned on. He knew he wouldn't be able to last very long if her delicate hands were to stroke him up and down; it would be a bit embarrassing if he were to climax the moment she touched him. "Another time," he smirked. "You look so tired."

"I am," she said. "I really want to spend the night next to you…"

He ran a hand through her shiny hair. "You can stay, if you'd like."

"Okay," she yawned. "You can unlock the doors. I don't care if Faye is here with Adam as long as I'm asleep and don't have to deal with her."

"Okay," he said. "I'll take the charms off in a moment. Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back."

She nodded and Tom slid out of bed, making his way to the lavatory that was attached to the dormitory. He was still throbbing ridiculously and knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep in such a condition. As he thought back to the sight of her naked body and the noises she had made, it didn't take long at all to get himself off. Finally, he felt some relief.

Tom made his way back to his dormitory, grabbing his wand off of his desk and quickly lifting the locking charms he had placed over the doors. He approached the bed and she scooted over to make room for him. He pulled the covers over them and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. She was quite warm and her hair smelled so wonderful.

"I still can't believe we met Nicolas Flamel. Slughorn adores us," she said.

Tom had been so caught up in his physical exploration of her that he had almost entirely forgotten about their meeting with Flamel. It felt as though it had happened weeks ago. "It is rather hard to process. Although I have to admit, I was rather disappointed in some of his answers."

"Me too. I know he's a brilliant wizard, but before I thought it was more of a stroke of genius than random chance…" She yawned and then added, "It was a little romantic, though."

"How do you mean?"

She tilted her head and looked up at him. "Flamel and his wife…he wanted to spend forever with her so he found a way to do it. He gave her such an amazing gift. It has to be the ultimate expression of love."

Tom contemplated it for a moment. "Yes, I suppose you're right," he said. She smiled at him and then rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes. He watched her as she drifted off to sleep, his mind still dancing around the last comment that she had made.

Thinking about such strong love between other people made him reflect on his own burgeoning feelings toward her. Did he love her? The answer was an instant, unequivocal yes. Until Rosemary, he had accepted the fact that he would never have significant feelings, much less love, for anyone. But he knew now that he had loved her, deeply and wholly, even before they became a couple. It didn't stop there: his love for her seemed dynamic, growing stronger and stronger with every moment he spent with her. He had abandoned any hopes of abating his obsession for her; it had become a part of him.

He pondered the fact that one day he would lose her, either due to a failure on his part to make her happy or their lack of immortality. Both possibilities were enough to make him feel sick and distraught. It was both terrifying and exhilarating to realize that he could no longer envision his life without her. He couldn't be sure of the direction in which his life was headed, but he knew that he would have to find a way to ensure she was always with him. It wasn't until he met Rose that he had experienced true happiness, and he couldn't even begin to fathom how painful it would be to let her go.

"But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world." ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

So, things were quite steamy this chapter! I hope you also thought their dinner with Nicolas Flamel was interesting!

Just a quick note - I've been wondering lately if the characters in the story are convincingly British. I'm from the U.S. and there are probably hundreds of British terms I'm not familiar with. If something seems like it was clearly written on this side of the pond, please let me know and I'll fix it!

Preview for next chapter: I'm going to take a break from having both Rose and Tom's perspectives and focus entirely on Tom in the next chapter.